Explore key components and structure of the GED …...•Content –45% - Quantitative Problem...

Did You Know? An Introduction to the GED® Test

3/14/2018

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Did You Know? An

Introduction to the GED®

Test for New Teachers

COABE 2018


In this session, we will:

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Session Objectives

❖ Explore key components and structure of the GED®

test

❖ Review student outcomes and research data

❖ Explore tools for the classroom

❖ Provide an overview of content and key strategies

❖ Share resources from the GED® Website


Exploring the Changes

Moving to the Future


A New Paradigm

Critical Thinking Skills: All content areas

Problem-solving Skills: All content areas

Close Reading Skills: All content areas

Evidence-based Writing Skills: Reasoning Through Language Arts

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Scoring of the GED® Test

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National Test-taker Data: 2014-present

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Math RLA ScienceSocial

Studies

Battery -

First Attempt

Battery -

Multiple Attempts

Passed83% 89% 91% 89% 42% 83%

(145 or higher)

College

Ready 7% 12% 11% 14% 20%in at least one content

(165 or higher)

College

Ready+Credit 2% 2% 2% 3% 5%

in at least one content

(175 or higher)


GED® College Ready & College Ready +

Credit Update

Momentum and PSE Outcomes


American Council on Education (ACE)

Recommendations for the GED® Test

GED®

College Ready

GED®

College Ready+Credit

• Score of 165 - 174 on any content test

• Waived from developmental education in that content requirements/courses

• Waived from placement testing, and

• Placed directly in credit-bearing courses

• Score of 175 – 200 on any content test

• Same as CR recommendations, plus

• Up to 10 semester hours of college credit

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Research Results Highlights

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Data matches in 2015 and 2016 with National

Student Clearinghouse indicate:

* Results based on random samples of 10,000 graduates in 2015 and 27,000 graduates in 2016


Research Results Highlights

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Data matches in 2015 and 2016 with National Student Clearinghouse

indicate:

* Results based on random samples of 10,000 graduates in 2015 and 27,000 graduates in 2016

✓ 93% continue to be

enrolled at the 2-year mark!

✓ Of the 7% not enrolled:

8 in 10 left PSE with a certificate/credential

✓ Higher education leaders

are becoming keenly interested in the

persistence numbers


Important Tools for the Classroom

RLA, Social Studies, Science, and Math


From Targets to Indicators to Application

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Assessment Targets describe the general

concepts that are assessed on the GED®

test

Indicators are fine-grained

descriptions of individual skills contained within an

assessment target

Application

describes what to look for in student

work


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Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs)

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• Most under-used and

undervalued resources

• Helpful tool for the

classroom

• Details the skills students

need to pass the test

• Two formats

– Official Version

– Test-taker Version


How to Use PLDs in the Classroom

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Tip 1: Assess student’s current skill level

Tip 2: Determine when students are

ready to test

Tip 3: Shape learning activities

Tip 4: Add perspective to lesson plans


Check out the PLDs

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What Makes Indicators High Impact?

• Important skills that

are used across

content areas

• May currently

receive light

coverage in

classroom

• Lend themselves to

straightforward

instruction


Look a Little Closer

RLA

Order sequences of events in texts

Social Studies

Identify the chronological structure of a historical narrative and sequence

steps in a process

Science

Reason from data or evidence to a conclusion

Mathematics

Search for and recognize entry point for solving a

problem and plan a solution pathway

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An Overview of the GED® Test

Getting Started


Purposes of the GED® test

• To provide results leading to the award of

a high school equivalency credential

• To provide evidence of readiness to enter

workforce training programs or

postsecondary education

• To provide actionable information about a

candidate’s academic strengths and

weaknesses

Improved

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GED® Test

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Test Time Notes

Reasoning through

Language Arts

150 minutes Includes 45 minutes for

extended response (timed

separately) and a 10

minute break

Mathematical Reasoning 115 minutes Part 1 – calculator not

allowed; Part 2 – calculator

allowed

Social Studies 70 minutes

Science 90 minutes


Overview of RLA Test

• Content - Integrated reading and writing

– Close reading

– Clear writing

– Editing and understanding the use of standard written English in

context

• Source texts – 75% nonfiction; 25% fiction

• Passage length – 400-900 words

• Range of text complexity, including texts at the college- and

career-ready level

• Technology-enhanced items and extended response

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Overview of Mathematical Reasoning Test

• Content

– 45% - Quantitative Problem Solving

• Number operations

• Geometric thinking

– 55% - Algebraic Problem Solving

• Texas Instruments - TI 30XS Multiview™ (calculator

allowed on most items

• Integration of mathematical practices

• Formula page, symbols, and calculator page provided


Overview of Social Studies Test

• Content

– 50% - Civics and Government

– 20% - United States History

– 15% - Economics

– 15% - Geography and the World

• Themes

– Development of Modern Liberties and Democracy

– Dynamic Responses in Societal Systems

• Social Studies Practices – analyzing, thinking, reasoning

• Technology-enhanced question items

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Overview of Science Test

• Content

– Life Science – 40%

– Physical Science – 40%

– Earth and Space Science – 20% Themes

• Themes

– Human Health and Living Systems

– Energy and Related Systems

• Science Practices – reasoning and thinking scientifically

• Question types - Technology-enhanced items


Writing and the GED® Test

New Skills for the Test and Beyond


Purpose of Extended Response

To provide test-takers with an opportunity to

demonstrate

• Knowledge of writing conventions in English

• Understanding of what they’ve read

• How well they use evidence to build arguments

• Their ability to clearly communicate their thinking

in their own words


Constructed Response on RLA

A constructed response item includes:

• One or more source texts

• Texts offer two positions on a given topic

• A prompt that provides instruction on what

the students is expected to do


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Know What is Expected

When you write . . .

• determine which position presented in the

passage(s) is better supported by evidence from the

passage(s)

• explain why the position you chose is the better-

supported one

• remember, the better-supported position is not

necessarily the position you agree with

• defend your assertions with multiple pieces of

evidence from the passage(s)

• build your main points thoroughly


Don’t Forget the Little Stuff

Expose students to a structured approach to the writing

task and help them understand that they need to:

• Write a complete response, not just a short paragraph

(300-500 words)

• Provide commentary on the evidence cited (explain

the “why”)

• Fully develop two or three ideas, rather than mention a

lot of things without detail

• Leave five minutes at the end for proofreading—that is

one of the things evaluated

3030


Inquiring Minds Want to Know:

Reasoning through Language Arts


Constructed Response Items and

Scoring

• Can you pass the RLA test and score 0 on the ER

item?

• Why should I spend time on teaching writing skills if

students don’t need many points on writing to pass the

test?

• Now that the Social Studies ER item has been

eliminated, do I still need to teach “enduring issues?”

• How does the computer score the ER item? What is it

looking for?

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Scoring

• Can you pass the RLA test and score 0 on the ER

item?

– Yes, but most test-takers who pass at HSE do get

some score points

– The ER is designed to measure skills at the higher

HSE levels and CCR levels

– Many test-takers still do not understand the ER task

• GEDTS conducting research into how to best explain the

task and what is required



Scoring

• Why should I spend time on teaching writing skills

if students don’t need many points on writing to

pass the test?

– Writing skills are one of the critical differentiators of

long-term success

– Any score point earned counts towards the overall

score

– Building skills in this area helps develop thinking skills

that impact performance on the entire test

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Scoring

• How does the computer score the ER item? What

is it looking for?

– The automated scoring engine catalogs the

characteristics of a writing sample

– Compares those characteristics to real exemplar

responses with known scores

– Assigns a score based on similarity to existing

exemplars

• If no similar responses found, ER is human-scored


Where to Access a Step-by-Step Guide for

Argumentative Writing

Tuesdays for Teachers

• Thinking Strategies for Crafting Constructed

Responses (Part 1) (May 24, 2016)

http://www.gedtestingservice.com/educators/thi

nkingstrategiesforconstructedresponsepart1

• Thinking Strategies for Crafting Constructed

Responses: One Step at a Time - Part 2 (June

2016)

http://www.gedtestingservice.com/educators/thi

nkingstrategiesconstructedresponsepart2

http://www.gedtestingservice.com/educators/thinkingstrategiesforconstructedresponsepart1

http://www.gedtestingservice.com/educators/thinkingstrategiesconstructedresponsepart2


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Build Student Knowledge and

Critical Reading SkillsSocial Studies

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What is a Primary Source?

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Primary Source

?

?

?

??

?

?

Primary Sources


Double Duty – Primary Source +

Enduring Issues

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What Are Enduring Issues?

50% of the questions for the GED® Social Studies Test fall under

the category of Civics and Government. Knowing the major

themes will provide test-takers with a frame of reference for this

content area.

The themes of Civics and Government are:

• An individual’s rights versus the good of the community

• Separation of powers

• Checks and Balances

• States’ rights versus federal power

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK8gYGg0dkE


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What’s My Enduring Issue?

Congress shall make no law respecting an

establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free

exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of

speech, or of the press; or the right of the people

peaceably to assemble, and to petition the

Government for a redress of grievances.”

First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution



“In order to lay a due foundation for that separate

and distinct exercise of the different powers of

government, which to a certain extent, is admitted

on all hands to be essential to the preservation of

liberty, it is evident that each department should

have a will of its own…”

James Madison, Federalist 51, 1789

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice

everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable

network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of

destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all

indirectly.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter from Birmingham Jail



“...I say, that Power must never be

trusted without a check.”

― John Adams,

Adams-Jefferson Letters

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Build Student Knowledge and

Critical Thinking SkillsScience

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"If it's green or wriggles,

it's biology.

If it stinks, it's chemistry.

If it doesn't work,

it's physics..."

Handy Guide to Science

46


Teach

experimental

design through

real-world

application and

reporting.

The Scientific Method


We Do It Everyday!

Real-World Example:

You got into your car to

drive here and turned

the key but the car

wouldn’t start.

(observation)

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Hypothesis There is something wrong with the car

Predictions battery dead, ignition problem, out of gas

Test

Predictions

turn on headlights, check spark plug wires,

dip stick in gas tank

Analyze

Results

headlights work, strong ignition spark, no

gas on dip stick-gas gauge reads half full

Draw

Conclusion

gauge inaccurate, out of gas


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Focus on Concepts and

Problem SolvingMathematical Reasoning


Problem-Solving in the Classroom


Teach the Big Ideas in Algebra

• Variable

• Symbolic Notation

• Equality

• Ratio and Proportion

• Pattern Generalization

• Equations and Inequalities

• Multiple Representations of Functions


Focus on Problem Solving

Polya’s Four Steps to Problem Solving

Polya, George. How To Solve It, 2nd ed. (1957). Princeton

University Press.

Understand the problem

Devise a plan

Carry out the plan

Look back (reflect)


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Help Students . . .

• Build their reading skills

• Increase their conceptual knowledge in math

• Build math vocabulary

• Depend less on rote memory and more on

conceptual knowledge

• Encourage perseverance when solving

problems


Teachers Need to Know

Your First Stop for a World of Information

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Set up an account with GED.com


Getting Started - GED® Account

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GED® Student Score Reports


GED® Student Score Reports

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Materials for Study!


GED® Study Guide

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Stay Current - Sign up for

InSession, be the “first” to know

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Thank you!

Communicate with GEDTS

[email protected]

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Explore key components and structure of the GED …...•Content –45% - Quantitative Problem...

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